Mumbai Local and Jazz at David Lam Park

My calendar is marked and the days set aside each year for the last weekend of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Always on the Canada Day long weekend for as far back as I can remember, the festival organizers set up a big stage in the park and present acts from noon until about 10 pm (Saturday and Sunday). All kinds of jazz, blues funk etc. bands play and all you need to worry about is the weather. I have a collection of CDs and downloads from some of the more impressive bands we have seen over the years.

This year (so far), impressing the heck out of me was the Istanbul Sessions Band including bass guitar player extraordinaire, Alp Ersonmez who variously thumped his strings with a drum stick, tapped notes with both hands high on the neck of his instrument and employed various effect pedals, one of which (presumably) gave him access to notes at least an octave up from what bass strings produce! 

All that music makes folks hungry and we took a break and went for a walk up to Mumbai Local, an Indian restaurant specializing in the street foods of India. I have been meaning to revisit since first I sampled their food on a Vanfoodster Tasting Plates event back in February of this year.

On that comparatively chilly evening, we tried a sampler of chaat and a tasty Indian dessert.

On this visit, Marie and I tried some of their specials from the West End Farmer's Market. On Saturday morning, these folks peruse the market seeking the best and freshest local ingredients and then use Indian recipes and techniques to create some wonderful dishes.

The first thing we tried was Swiss Chard Vadi. Battered with chana flour and deep fried, rolled sushi style and served with fried curry leaves, nasturtium petals, mustard seeds and coconut. This was a little over salted but an amazingly conceived dish. It was a little crunchy and delicious and we loved it!

Next up was Dum Aloo, a Kashmiri dish of baby potatoes with cashew curry and caramelized onions garnished again with the nasturtium leaves. The nasturtium leaves and petals are edible and a little peppery and reminded me of stealing leaves off my Aunt's plants when we were kids! This was also a wonderful vegan dish with fried purple potato chips and a complex sauce which I finished with a spoon after the potatoes were gone!

It was served with bread that I cannot remember the name of (No. It wasn't roti. I know what roti is.), that had beet in the dough and as a filling. Nice!

Finally, off the regular menu, we had Dahi Puri, tasty crackers filled with yogurt, chickpea and tamarind and date chutnies. Refreshing!

Mumbai Local is a comfortable, casual space. Our server gave us excellent advice and explained their impressive West End Farmer's Market plan. I would not have caught on to that without her advice! This is a great Davie Street eatery, very affordable,  with some creative and interesting choices.

For what its worth, we give Mumbai Local 4 1/2 out of 5.